I teach theory and practice of social media at NYU, and am an advocate and activist for the free culture movement, so I’m a pretty unlikely candidate for Internet censor, but I have just asked the students in my fall seminar to refrain from using laptops, tablets and phones in class.

This is the most convincing argument "against" that I've seen yet. I would add, though, that Shirky's style is one of collaborative inquiry where participation, discussion are the norm. " I’m coming to see student focus as a collaborative process. It’s me and them working to create a classroom where the students who want to focus have the best shot at it, in a world increasingly hostile to that goal."

Open pedagogy is about empowering students and expanding their potential for learning. In this post we share a list of draft qualities for open pedagogy and discuss the implications for learning design.

For over a decade, the New Media Consortium (NMC) has been charting the landscape of emerging technologies in teaching, learning, and creative inquiry on a global scale. The NMC’s advisory board includes 750 technology experts and faculty members from colleges and universities in 40 countries, and is supported by the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). The NMC’s latest rese...

Spells out rules for netiquette. Good way to start out with students who are used to posting on social networks and ranting. In the comments, the college stated that teachers can reprint this for their classrooms as long as they give credit to Touro College.

Learning to focus on one task while tuning out the many distractions vying for attention is a crucial life skill that some students are missing.

Elena Elliniadou's insight:

“I don’t think the enemy is digital devices,” Goleman said. “What we need to do is be sure that the current generation of children has the attentional capacities that other generations had naturally before the distractions of digital devices. It’s about using the devices smartly but having the capacity to concentrate as you need to, when you want to.”

What is a Personal Learning Network (PLN)? A Personal Learning Network (PLN) is an informal learning network of professionals, industry thought-leaders or organizations. Building a PLN allows one to connect with others who create, curate and/or share valuable information with the intent to educate others in their community. PLNs allow two or more people, who might not know one another personally, to come together to exchange information.

Social media is a powerful beast that for many of us is involved in a great portion of our daily lives. Millions of us flock to popular social media websites such as, but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Vine multiple times daily to give and receive the latest scoop on pretty well everything. […]

What are the Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make When Integrating Technology into the Classroom?

The word “mistake” is a harsh word. It implies flaws, pointing fingers, errors in judgement, something wrong and possibly even a dead end. I would rather think or connect the word “mistake” to first steps, stepping stones, experimentation and exploration. With that being said, those “first steps” or that exploration cannot become a routine cemented in stone how technology is being used in the classroom. Stepping stones are meant to lead to something else.

For the sake of the prompt given, here are my top 5 “Mistakes” (in no particular order) which I see, read and hear about as I travel the world to learn and work with schools, teachers and students:

- Technology being used to substitute an analog activity

- Technology use being seen as an add-on to allow students to use devices, the Internet, a program or an app as a reward, for entertainment, as a time filler for students who finish early

(This blog picks up some threads from my Dear Students piece ) What do we teachers do while we wait for politicians to agree with us that 19th century school structures are obsolete in the 21st cen...

Elena Elliniadou's insight:

"Public schools are much more than places where accredited learning happens. They are a safe space for students whose home lives are difficult; they are the oasis in dangerous neighbourhoods; they are where many students eat their only meal each day and where they can speak to an adult about their fears and concerns.

Public schools are some of the few public spaces we have left that still function as a commons, a space for people, not for profit."

I often begin my workshop on personal learning networks (PLN) for educators by asking these questions: Who is in your learning network? Who do you learn from on a regular basis? Who do you turn to for your own professional development? Then, I share with participants these ten tips for building their own personal learning network, and I hope these might be useful for you too.

Having looked at this post better, I don't agree with every tool displayed. The correct tools are the ones you and your students find useful. I agree though with the skills of the 21st century. Tools are just tools digital or not that need to lead to the skills.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

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Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.